Plastics industry cries for more govt support

The plastic industry in India today voiced its demand for more government support to sustain its growth momentum. There is a growing feeling that the present infrastructure may not be enough to sustain the growth momentum in near future and that government needs to take urgent steps at local, state and national levels.

Plastics industry cries for more govt support

With plastics rapidly replacing items like wood, steel, rubber, paper, jute, etc., it is estimated that Indiaâ€™s per capita consumption of plastics would zoom up to 20 kgs by the year 2020 from its current level of approximately 8 kgs per head. Set to grow at CAGR of 18% over next 5-7 years, the industry leaders are unanimous in their opinion that this will possible only with active government.

Echoing the sentiment, Raju Desai, chairman of Plastivision India 2013, said, ”The industry is trying all it can to sustain this growth rate. We are focused on innovative technologies, product development, marketing initiatives at global level, etc among many other such steps. As matter of fact, we are addressing challenges of skilled manpower ourselves. We are in the process of setting a full scale world class university exclusively focused on plastic industry. At Plastvision India 2013, we have special pavilion called Jobs Fair to attract talent into plastic industry. This fair also attends to demystify the plastic industry to everyone.”

Continuing further, Desai mentioned, ”We need better infrastructure support from the government. Plastics industry needs dedicated Plastic Parks. We need consistency in policies across all states in the country. Also, since nearly 90% of players are SMEs, availability of working capital is a huge challenge for most of us. Another important task is to continuously upgrade technology. We would benefit if the government consider technology upgradation scheme for plastic industry also. With such support from government, the plastic industry is confident that it will be among the fastest growing segments in India.”

Indeed, the excitement among the participants of ongoing Plastivision India 2013 is palpable. Besides thousands of small and medium scale manufacturers, there is participation from over 30 countries, foreign trade promotion bodies, cluster promotion bodies from Europe and UNIDO, policy makers and state government bodies. Everyone is unanimous over one fact that India is perhaps the biggest growth opportunity in plastics.